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It’s a sour job for Gaza’s fruit farmers

Citrus fruit season has begun in Gaza and has seen farmers harvesting oranges, tangerines, and pomelos

November 27, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Trees in the besieged Strip have not been carrying the same yield as in previous years because of the water shortages suffered by residents and farmers. Wells have also become contaminated and do not provide locals with a healthy water supply.

READ: Gaza farmers have dates, but have nowhere to sell them

In addition to this, farmers cannot always obtain the necessary pesticides to stave off disease and thus some trees die.

Some 20,000 dunams of citrus plantations were harvested this year.

At the start of the year, by a hydrologist who advises the Palestinian Water Authority reported that 97 per cent of the drinking water in the Gaza Strip is impotable because of sewage pollution or high salinity levels.

Almost 90 per cent of the drinking water in Gaza exceeds the maximum salinity standard of the World Health Organization and is expected to become even more saline in the years to come.